Meet the Artist: Mary Haller

Art is born out of unique energies. It’s something we experience with all of our senses, both physical and spiritual. Mary Haller’s creations are a direct message from a place of peace, healing, and beauty. “Meet the artist” is our blog series where we ask questions, and the artists answer!

Your pieces have a distinct energy. Can you share a little bit about your process?

Creating is a very spiritual and healing process for me. I always begin a new work with prayer and meditation. The image comes into my mind, usually not in color but in composition and structure, and then the piece tells me along the way where the color wants to go. It’s a transcendental, fluid process. 

Where do you meditate and come up with your creations? At home?
 

I have a studio at my home on Beaver Lake, which is my sanctuary and sacred space. It has big windows that overlook the lake and trees. Being in touch with nature is an important part of my process, as is paying attention when the world is quiet. My best time of day for prayer and meditation is 4am. 

Do you work best in that quiet space or do you ever listen to music? 

On occasion I’ll listen to music while I work, if I do it’s likely to be soft piano music.

How do you achieve the varied textures and glossed looks in your works? 

I generally start with canvas, wood or tile. For my larger mixed media pieces, I’ll focus on the image in my mind and collect materials that speak to me. Often I’ve done an acrylic underpainting sketch during the phase I call the “image download” process - the process in which I translate the image from the spiritual realm in my vision to making sense in my brain, and then to the physical realm on my canvas. I then lay out all the materials to see how they exist together and play together. The selection of paper and other mixed media is very important, and it’s much like a quilting process. As for the glossy finish on my tiles, I pour many layers of art resin to achieve this effect. With resin you have to stir it, apply it, blowtorch it, let it dry, and repeat. The drying part is actually the trickiest and requires a lot of patience. It has to cure for 72 hours and it’s very difficult to keep off any dust bits and small hairs while it dries!

What medium do you like to work with the best? 

I really enjoy the movement and fluidity of working with alcohol ink, as well as the texture aspect of mixed media. I appreciate the confined strokes of painting and realism, and I started off doing art that way, but realism is not for me. However, I like to teach abstract acrylic painting. I also teach mixed media and alcohol ink classes in my home studio. 

When did you start teaching and making art full time? 

I was a supply chain executive for my earlier career, and when I retired from the corporate world in 2013, I was able to chase my passion. I’ve always made art, but it became full time. Then when we moved to Arkansas from Florida during the pandemic, I started doing the local art markets and getting involved with the local galleries like Art on the Square. You can also find my works at Dogwood Corner Boutique and Gallery in Eureka Springs and at my previous local gallery in Florida. 

One question I like to ask is, if you could have lunch with any artist, who would you pick and why? 

This is a tough question because there would be so many to try to choose from. An artist I really admire and would love to meet is Hessam Abrishami. The color, movement, and emotion that his paintings portray is phenomenal. His works have big energy and evoke strong emotions. 

If you could sum up the vibe of your art in one or two words, what would it be? 


Nature-inspired and abstract. I’ve also heard it described as impressionistic and expressionistic. I try not to get too wrapped up in over-thinking my work or narrowly defining it. I even try not to worry about whether or not it will sell. My best work comes when I’m able to get out of the way and let the energy speak for itself. 

What are you doing when you’re not making art? 

I like to stay busy! I’m currently doing business consulting and helping another gallery get up and running. I have two grown children and one granddaughter that holds my heart, and I live with the love-of-my-life Jeff and our dog Obie. 

Thank you for a great interview Mary, and for blessing us with your beautiful visions!